Next up is the marvelous Luke East, from Reviewing Who. Today he’s here to discuss reviewing various items from Doctor Who, podcasts, Big Finish Productions, etc.

Welcome!

Question 1) What part of the world do you come from?

I’m originally from the UK, but am currently residing in New Zealand, where I’ve lived for the last decade.

Question 2) When did you become a fan of Doctor Who?

I’m not sure I can remember a time in my life without Doctor Who, but it would’ve been around 2005 when I saw my first bit of Doctor Who. I distinctly remember the scene where the Ninth Doctor and Rose are looking down on the Earth and the Sun from space, which can only be one of two scenes, either the one in ‘The End of the World’, or the one in ‘The Long Game’ on Satellite 5, before being sent up to bed.

I recently picked up some of the Tenth Doctor and Martha hardcover books, seeing their spines lined up on the shelf takes me right back to a memory of being in Tesco in 2006 where I picked out my first Doctor Who book, a Tenth Doctor and Rose hardcover.

Question 3) Who is your Doctor?

This is a tricky one. I think every Doctor is great. Dependent on what mood I’m in some days my favourite can be Sylvester McCoy, the next day it might be Matt Smith, or if I’ve been listening to Big Finish it might be Paul McGann, so I don’t really have a specific incarnation that I consider to be “my Doctor”. Primarily, most of my growing up was done watching the Tenth Doctor, but I really enjoy the Twelfth Doctor especially in Series 10, I’d have liked to have seen another series with Twelfth Doctor and Bill. Hopefully Big Finish will pick them up in the future.

Question 4) What got you started reviewing for Doctor Who?

I’d been a long-time podcast enthusiast, listening to ‘The Doctor Who Podcast’ until it was brought to an end in 2015. It has only been in the last year or so that I’ve found some other Who-related podcasts that I enjoy, shout-outs to ‘The Big Blue Box Podcast’ and ‘New To Who’. I guess it was the influence of these podcasts that got me thinking ‘I could do this’, and so I gave it a try, albeit as articles rather than audios. It’s great fun.

Question 5) Does the studio and/or publisher(s) send you material automatically or do you get to pick and choose what you review?

I get certain things sent through to review and I’m extremely grateful to those publishers and merchandisers who do send me stuff before it’s released in stores. But there are a number of other things that I track down myself for review.

Question 6) What was the first Doctor Who thing you reviewed and who was it for?

The first thing I reviewed on the ‘Reviewing Who’ site was the ‘Tales of Terror’ short story collection. My local library had a copy and I read it over the course of a month or so and then wrote the review, which is perhaps the shortest review on the site, but as I’ve become a more natural reviewer, I’ve found it easier to write more and more.

Question 7) What has been your favorite item to review and why?

I’ve loved getting to review the Titan Comics releases. I’d never actually had the opportunity to pick one up prior to my creating ‘Reviewing Who’, as they’re few and far between here in NZ, so it’s been a great joy to get them in my inbox on a fairly regular basis. I’m really enjoying the Twelfth and Seventh Doctor ranges at the moment.

Question 8) Is there something you would like to review that you haven’t yet?

I’d love to be sent Big Finish stuff, so that I can review more Big Finish, especially the Jago and Litefoot releases, I’ve only been able to review the first series so far. But something I’ve not been able to review at all that I’d love to review would be the Robert Harrop figurines, they’re so beautiful. The same goes for the Doctor Who Figurine Collection magazines.

Question 9) Would you consider reviewing something that isn’t official Doctor Who material, but is related (i.e. a novel inspired by Doctor Who)?

Of course! I’ve recently been reviewing some of the Lethbridge-Stewart books and they’re brilliant. I can say the same for Torchwood, Class, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and any of the Reeltime Pictures releases, none of them are technically Doctor Who, but they’re still part of the Whoniverse.

Question 10) I understand you also have a website, which features interviews with important members of the fandom. What was the most interesting thing you learned?

Yes, I recently expanded ‘Reviewing Who’ to include feature articles, as well as a feature called ‘Interviewing Who’. It’s been fantastic getting to connect with these truly inspirational people, who started out writing articles as fans, and have since been snapped up by DWM, not to mention they all have really interesting lives outside of Doctor Who. The most interesting thing I’ve learned came from DWM’s Editorial Assistant, Emily Cook, who has established to charitable organisations called Khushi Feet and Khushi Hands, which help women and children in India. It’s such an amazing story of someone of a similar age to myself noticing a void and setting up a charity to fill that void. Something I’ve noticed from a number of these interviews, is that quite a few of us Who fans do a lot of charitable work. For instance: I volunteer to raise funds for a number of charities here in NZ, and Emily has, as I’ve just mentioned, set up two charities, there are plenty more of us out there doing philanthropic work too.

Question 11) What do you think it is that inspires so many Whovians to get involved in charitable work?

I think it must have something to do with the strong morality shown in Doctor Who. The Doctor effectively shows us that we should help where we can to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. I’m sure there are many other contributing factors also, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that fans of a show that places such a strong emphasis on human rights, ethics, and morality, end up involved with charities.

Question 12) Other than ‘Reviewing Who’ and your volunteering, do you have any other hobbies?

Indeed, I do. At the moment I’m directing a show called ‘Blue Box Messiah’ for the local theatre I’m Vice President of here in NZ, it’s a comedy about life, religion, and being a Doctor Who fan. Outside of Doctor Who I’m also pretty politically active, and am currently petitioning the New Zealand House of Representatives to amend legislation so that people with life-long medical conditions that will only degenerate don’t have to reapply for their benefit payments every 3 months. There are a few other bits and pieces I get up to, as well as those I’ve mentioned, so it keeps things pretty interesting.

Question 13) What have you enjoyed the most since establishing ‘Reviewing Who’?

I’ve really enjoyed connecting with other fans from all around the world, primarily via Twitter. We have a great community of fans out there, but it would be remiss of me if I didn’t also not the small minority of fans who make fandom unsafe for others, by spreading abuse and vitriol. We should be united by our love of Doctor Who, rather than engaging in in abuse and mudslinging against one another. So while I’m heartened by the majority of fans who spread good vibes, I’ve been deeply disappointed by that other small minority who spread negativity.

Question 14) If you were asked to write an article for the Doctor Who magazine, what topic would you like to cover?

My favourite DWM features have always been Galaxy Forum and the interviews, so I’d quite like to do something in that realm. But readers of ‘Reviewing Who’ will also notice that some of my recent features have looked at Doctor Who on VHS, and also how Doctor Who toys have powered the imagination of at least one whole generation of fans, so I’d quite happily write a feature like those too. I think DWM is a brilliant British institution, it’s been bringing fans together since its launch in the Tom Baker era, and right now it’s got a great team of writers working on it, so it’d be amazing to be asked to write for them.

Question 15) How does it feel to be on the other side of the microphone whereas I’m asking the questions instead of you?

I confess, it is a slightly different experience, I am usually the one doing the interviewing but this has been good fun.

Question 16) Where can others find out more about you and your reviews?

They can find ‘Reviewing Who’ on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Wix, which is also where they will be able to find various links to the ‘Reviewing Who’ website.

Thank you again, Luke! Fans, please make sure to check out his website, and stay tuned next week when I sit down with the very talented artist and writer, Sophie Iles, whose work has appeared in kOZMIC Press’ Children of Time: the Companions of #DoctorWho, The Time Travel Nexus and multiple charity works.